As Ruby squabbled over the same issue with her mother, she rose to her feet. Dom caught her movement, but turned his head away. He would let her go in order to get the details later.
She would deliver, just like he would cover for her if their mother noticed she was gone.
Creeping through the flora she followed the sound of her father’s steady breathing, keeping a safe distance back. The moonlight began to aide her quest as it filtered through the pines and cast a low glow over the vegetation. She watched his body tense still then lower to a crouch as he peered towards a small clearing.
Gemma repositioned herself so she could follow his line of sight. The hooded man stood hunched in what Gemma thought was despair. Her intuition was confirmed moments later when a low sob echoed through the air. The man dropped awkwardly to his knees. The cane thudded to the grass as he flung back his hood, revealing a crop of silver curls atop a dark, wrinkled face. Gemma studied his profile. Tears trickled over his broad, flat nose, but he didn’t bother to brush them away. In his bony hands he held a leather pouch. Pulling it open with shaky fingers, he emptied the contents into his hand before lifting it up to the moonlight.
Gemma felt her breath catch as she recognized the arrow shaped necklace.
Another one!
The talons of doubt scraped down the back of her brain.
Don’t be stupid. Dad is just finding out where they are so he can keep our family safe.
That was the theory Harrison had presented to her a couple of months ago and she liked it… a lot. She remembered the first trip to Germania where she had had to re-locate the trinket for an archaeological dig. She had questioned the validity of the trip and found her concerns growing when they had done it a second time. She had worked out that the necklaces belonged to two of the electus. Titus and Tita.
She had pushed her suspicions aside as time had worn on, but here they were again. Maybe each electus had a necklace. She wondered if they would be doing four more of these trips in the not so distant future. Her father was obviously looking at where the piece was buried so it could be retrieved easily in 2011.
But why do you need to retrieve it, Dad? What are you doing with these necklaces?
Fighting off the doubt, she clung to her father’s good nature as she watched the crying man dig a small hole in the ground.
Bringing the necklace to his lips, he whispered a jumble of words Gemma couldn’t catch before kissing the arrowhead and placing it in the ground.
Gemma could feel the agony of lost love radiating through the clearing as the man buried the small treasure. She wondered if he was one of the electus. The idea that she was gazing at one up close and personal sent a thrill through her body. Was it Gaius? Did the necklace he was burying belong to his true love, Gaia?
The thought made her smile. She knew of this love. The kind of love Nathaniel had held for his morning star; the kind of love that inspired poetry.
Its roots had taken hold within her soul too, blooming with hope and spreading life throughout her entire body.
Harrison.
Her mind lingered over him as she watched the man pat the dirt in farewell before her body shredded to dust.
Chapter Twelve
St Augustine, Florida – 2011 AD
It had been two weeks since their disagreement. Harrison had made a special effort to avoid the topic, but he found his mind was plagued with worry. If Gabe was right then her parents were potentially very dangerous people and he shivered to think of what they might have planned for Gemma. He needed to protect her, but how?
Help her see the truth?
The idea was plausible, but he wasn’t sure he could pull it off when he didn’t really know what the exact truth was. He wasn’t really in a position to go spying on the Hart family. The only time he ever went into their home was if Gemma was sneaking in to grab something. They never lingered and if they did happen to see one of her parents the temperature in the room dropped to sub zero and a quick retreat was the only chance of survival.
Pulling the rag from his back pocket, he wiped his hands then lowered the hood of the car he’d been working on. Slapping the red paint, he turned to the office in search of the key.
Avoiding the topic of Gabe had kept his relationship with Gemma on smoother ground. They were still bickering more than usual, the tension they were living with was impossible to ignore. She had been relatively happy pretending Gabe didn’t exist. Wanting to avoid full on blowouts with her, he had kept his thoughts to himself, but he wasn’t sure how much longer he could do it.
“She’s running out of time.”
Gabe’s words echoed in his head as he unhooked the key from beside Bryan’s desk. Harrison’s biggest fear was that he would leave it too long and then it’d be too late.
His worry for Gemma wasn’t helped by the fact that she was looking more and more exhausted after each trip. He stopped on his way to the car to study her as she exited the bathroom.
She rubbed a finger over her eye and ran her hand over her forehead. Her ponytail shook back and forth as if she was trying to wake herself up properly. Her body sagged as she stopped for a second to lean against the tool bench and re-gather herself.
Harrison felt a flash of anger as he watched her try and cope with her return. Surely her parents knew what a toll this was taking on her. How could they keep putting their family through this? Wasn’t parenting all about doing what was best for your children?
Dropping the key into his pocket he headed straight towards her and grabbed her quivering bicep.
“You need a break.”
She didn’t even put up a fight as he dragged her to his Stingray, hollering over his shoulder that they were taking an early lunch.
Leaning back in her seat with a sigh, Gemma closed her eyes and took in a slow breath.
“Are you-”
“Just give me a minute.” She raised her hand to stop him.
He kept driving in silence towards their favorite spot at Anastasia National Park. His eyes darted from the road to her resting body. He wanted to start spouting off about her parent’s selfishness and about how Gabe might be able to help her, but he kept his lips sealed, knowing she was in no frame of mind to take it.
By the time he pulled into a parking space and cut the engine, Gemma’s cheeks had found their color and she sat up with an easy smile. He wasn’t appeased.
“You know you’re getting worse, right?”
Her eyes tightened in the corners and she looked away from him.
“Each trip you’re coming back more and more exhausted.”
“I always recover.”
“Yeah, but for how long? I mean, what if you stop recovering?”
“My parents wouldn’t do that to me.” She turned back to face him.
“They shouldn’t be doing this to you at all! Do they even know the effect travel has on your body?”
“Of course they do! We all feel tired afterwards!” Her brows creased.
Are you sure about that, Gem?
He kept his lips from asking, knowing it would just make her bite even more vicious. Instead he glanced away from her, frustrated that they were heading down the argument path again.
The car simmered with stony silence. He kept his eyes out the window, his fingers drumming over the steering wheel and his mouth shut.
Gemma finally let out a soft sigh.
“I was just in France, 1943.” She held out an olive branch. Because of the building friction between them, she hadn’t been as forth coming with her trips. Her effort to restore their happy equilibrium was obvious.
“We helped a Jewish family to the coastline. Apparently they had managed to hide out for most of the war and got caught helping out a fallen soldier. Dad thought such tenacity should be rewarded. We managed to get them on a boat to England.”
Harrison smiled and made a mental note to look up that story later. It sounded like a good one.
“Where’d you go a couple of weeks ago?”
/>
“Huh?”
He glanced over to see Gemma scrolling through her memory banks. He gave her a small hand.
“You’d been at my place and when you got back you had to leave pretty quick because you were close to curfew, but you gave me the most stunning kiss… and then never told me why.”
Gemma smiled. “So I have to explain each of my kisses now?”
“No,” he chuckled. “I was just wondering.”
“I remember.” She settled back in her seat and reached for his hand. “I don’t know where we were… or even when, but it was the most beautiful night. The stars were out, the forest was silent and I just wanted you there beside me.”
“What were you doing?”
“Just observing.” She shrugged.
“Observing?”
“Yeah, sometimes Dad needs to see where something is or how something plays out before deciding what to do. Occasionally we head back to a place for a second time after he’s gone on an observation trip. He doesn’t usually take us along.”
His heart thudded and he sat up straighter.
“What do you mean, he doesn’t usually take you?”
“If he’s only observing, he doesn’t need us there. I don’t know why he felt the need this time.” She shrugged again. “Maybe he’s going to start teaching us how to analyze or something.”
Her reasoning didn’t sit right. His heartbeat was erratic as he tried to process the feeling creeping through his system and then it hit him.
“Time spirits can’t travel forever. The older they get, the weaker their power becomes.”
Gabe’s words rang in his head, stealing his breath. He tried to keep his expression nonchalant.
“How old is your Dad now?”
“Um.” Gemma looked confused by the question, but worked it out anyway. “He must be 49 this year. Why?”
Harrison shook his head. “I just… realized I didn’t know.” He was sure the smile he pasted on his face was pathetic.
Gemma’s eyes narrowed and he quickly drew away from the subject not wanting to reveal his thoughts. She would kill him if she knew he was planning on seeking out Gabe and telling him his theory.
“You feeling better?” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Yeah.” Her reply was slow. She was still trying to assess him.
He cleared his expression.
“You’re not telling me something.”
He nodded then licked his lips. “I will… eventually, but for now, I need you to trust me. I won’t do anything to hurt you, Gem.” He kept his gaze steady. “Everything I do is because I love you.”
The mark on her collarbone pulsed red. Her lips rose at the corners before she pulled his head towards her.
The rest of their lunch break was lost as the car ignited with their fuel and roared to life as they both lost themselves in each other, forgetting the worries that lay outside the car doors.
Chapter Thirteen
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida – 2011 AD
Gemma’s lissome body entered the house in stealth mode. Pressing the light on her watch, she glanced at the time and winced. It could be worse. Closing the internal door, she tiptoed over the marble floor and headed for the staircase.
“You’re late.”
Gemma placed her hand on the banister with a sigh. Turning on her heel, she faced her mother’s stone cold expression. The petite woman was standing in her silk dressing gown, her arms folded and her left eyebrow peaked. Gemma hated it when her eyebrow did that… it always meant trouble.
“Get in here.” Penelope flicked her head towards the well-lit dining room.
Gemma resisted the urge to flee up the stairs and followed her mother into the carpeted room off the kitchen. Pulling out one of the heavy wooden chairs, she slumped onto the cream padding and let her hand rest on the table.
Her mother elegantly slid the chair at the head of the table from its place and floated into her seat, resting her hands on the table and linking her fingers.
The silence that followed was suffocating. Gemma forced her leg to remain still, but lost the battle moments later when it began to bob with agitation.
“I’m only thirty minutes late.” She shifted in her seat, moving forward to rest her elbows against the polished wood. “It’s not like you had to call out the National Guard or anything.”
Her mother didn’t rise to her daughter’s tone.
“So what did you do tonight?”
Gemma turned away with a huff.
“I had dinner at Harrison’s house then we went to the movies with Rosie and one of her friends, then Harrison and I went to the beach.”
“To do what?”
“To hang out, Mom! To talk, to kiss a little, to enjoy each other’s company. What’s the big deal?” Gemma rose from her seat, too agitated to sit. “This is ridiculous! I’m sick of coming home to this every time I go out. I’m hardly ever late, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference!”
“Gemma, the original deal was one date a weekend. You should be grateful we’re letting you have a few extra over the summer.”
Gemma held in her sigh.
“You are walking on very dangerous ground, young lady.”
“Why?” She spun to face her mother. “Why is Harrison so dangerous? He loves me, he makes me happy, he takes care of me. Why do you keep trying to ruin this for us?”
“Because it can’t go anywhere! You know the rules. You two are breaking up after high school.”
Gemma shook her head with a scoff. “We all know that’s not going to happen, Mom! You want the truth? I love Harrison and I’m staying with him. Nothing you say or do can change that.”
Her mother’s eyes turned black, making Gemma’s insides flinch. She forced her gaze to remain steady.
“Your father will not be happy about that.”
The statement was uttered with a soft sweetness that had Gemma’s stomach coiling into a tight knot.
“It’s my life.”
Unable to stand the pulse vibrating from her controlled mother, she turned and headed up the stairs. Closing her bedroom door behind her, she leaned against the wood and took a moment to rein in her galloping heart. Breathing in through her nostrils, she tried to erase the dark anger of her mother’s expression, but found her mind flashing back to it like an old film reel replaying the same scene.
It took an age to capture sleep that night and when she did her mind was a blur of over crossing images… Harrison’s liquid smile, her mother’s steely expression and the calm eyes of a man who claimed to be her father.
She woke the next morning feeling sluggish. Her brain felt swollen and tender and her eyes were gritty. Glancing at her watch, she let out a groan and flicked back the covers. She was going to be late for work.
Racing through a shower, she got dressed in record time and flew down the stairs. The kitchen counter was filled with Dom eating a mammoth bowl of muesli and Ruby nibbling on a banana. Gemma wrinkled her nose as she shoved past them and reached for a granola bar.
“Heard you were late last night.” Ruby’s eyes gleamed.
Gemma shot her a silent warning.
“No it’s good!” Her sister’s eyes swelled with innocence. “It takes the heat off me.”
Her smile was sunshine and Gemma felt her lips quirk in response as she unwrapped her food.
“I gotta go.” She kissed each of the twins before heading out the door.
“See ya, Gemmalicious!”
Her smile grew as she heard the name floating after her. She really did love those two… and her parents. In spite of the growing rift between them, they were her flesh and blood.
Yes! Your flesh and blood!
Gemma gave herself a severe warning as she shoved the helmet on her head. Her parents were just looking out for her welfare. They hadn’t been expecting Harrison to come along and it was taking them time to adjust, but they would. They loved her. They wanted her to be happy. It was better that they knew th
e truth now than be facing this argument at graduation.
Gliding her bike down the driveway, she pulled onto the road and headed for the highway. By the time St Augustine appeared, Gemma had convinced herself that when she donned her graduation gown, her parents would be inviting Harrison to dinner and welcoming him with open arms, knowing that he made their little girl happy.
They love me enough to do that. THEY DO!
Chapter Fourteen
St Augustine, Florida – 2011 AD
Harrison sat in the booth facing Gabe. The man hadn’t hesitated to meet him when Harrison had called the night before. They now sat in a small diner on the outskirts of town talking over two plates of scrambled egg and sausage.
“So what do you think?” Harrison spooned in a mouthful of hash brown and waited.
Gabe curled his fingers around a mug of coffee and sat back in his seat. Taking a slow sip, he looked back at Harrison with a nod.
“It’s plausible.” He took another sip. “Hell, kid, you’re probably right.”
His face grew hard.
“I know.” Harrison felt the same. “So they can’t keep doing it, right? I mean, the older they get the more they must be zapping her strength?”
“Yeah.” Gabe leaned forward onto the table. “She is getting stronger though. Once she’s 18, it’ll be a little easier for her.”
“But they’ll be older! They’re using more and more of her strength. The fact they took her for an observation trip is just proof they can’t travel without her anymore. Dom and Ruby must have just been a cover.”
“Probably. I wonder if the twins need her? They must be only… an eighth time spirit? There’s a chance they would be drawing from her too, just not as much. But that will obviously change as they get older.”
Harrison dropped his fork and ran a hand through his hair.
Black Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy, #2) Page 7